Meteorology
Jet-enhanced banded snowfall: What is it, and how did it contribute to the October 25th snowstorm in Colorado?
One of our main mechanisms for snow producing storms along the Front Range is what we call upslope: winds that push up against the Rockies and create the lift needed to produce precipitation, which in the winter usually falls in the form of snow. For the northern urban corridor that's typically a northeasterly or easterly wind, but that differs depending on where along the Front Range you are located. With a classic cutoff low snowstorms, that upslope is deep – meaning we have strong upslope w
Forecasting
The Importance of Shortwave Troughs and How to Identify Them
With the severe weather season upon us, I thought I would revisit and update an old post I wrote before joining Weather5280. Shortwave troughs are features in the general flow of the atmosphere that are very important when it comes to forecasting, particularly for convective features and winter weather. Shortwaves can be thought of as "weather-makers," whereas Longwaves (Rossby Waves) might then be "trend-makers." Multiple shortwave troughs can be imbedded within a Rossby Wave trough. Shortwave